Archive for the ‘financing costs’ Category

There are two cost drivers that often mean the difference between making a profit on a sale and incurring a loss. One pertains to the high costs to finance inventory, while the other pertains to the high costs to finance receivables. Every business would love to be able to lower both. One includes having high inventory turnover rates, and the other relies upon finding customers who pay on time, every time. Most companies understand that doing both is extremely difficult, if not next to impossible. Unfortunately, both of these costs are exacerbated when companies run manual processes, processes that are based on running inventory and accounting on excel spreadsheets. Imagine the damage that is incurred when companies run both of these business functions on separate spreadsheets. Imagine how difficult it is to reconcile inventory and accounting when neither of these methods is live and neither of are capable of “speaking” with one another. It is the perfect storm and easy to see how manual processes do nothing more than make these costs more severe. What is the solution for those enterprises that want to do away with these high costs?

Most companies understand that inventory costs money, but few understand why inventory becomes more expensive the longer it’s held. Still, even fewer companies take the time to track the impact of the cost of money on their inventory. When thinking of the cost of money, think of your company’s costs to purchase and retain parts and raw materials for long periods. Think of your company’s financing costs, how those costs rise over time and ultimately, what drives those costs. More importantly, think of how long it takes to sell that inventory and how certain customers can increase these costs by taking too long to pay Continue reading “Understanding Your Company’s Financing Costs of Inventory” »